INTRODUCTION |
Assalam u Aalaikum! My name is Afrah, and I'll be your language teacher and cultural guide throughout this introductory course. |
There is a wide variety of Pakistani dishes, and your job as a visitor is to try as many different foods as possible! However, before you start eating, you have to get to the table! In this lesson, we'll cover getting to the table in a restaurant. |
BODY |
When entering a restaurant in Pakistan, they will greet you with Assalam u Aalaikum, meaning "Hello." |
In Pakistan, when entering a restaurant you could be asked the question "How many people are you?" which in Urdu is Aap kitnay log hain? |
Let's hear it once again: |
(slow) Aap kitnay log hain? Aap kitnay log hain? |
The first word, Aap means “you/your”. Let’s hear it once again, aap, aap. |
Next word kitnay, means "How many?" Let's break down this word and hear it one more time: (slow) kit-nay, kitnay |
The word meaning "people" (log) follows next: (slow) log, log. |
Finally, we have hain, which in Urdu is "are" (slow) Hain. Hain. |
Aap kitnay log hain? |
Now let's go over how to answer this question in Urdu. |
In Urdu, you would respond by telling the waiter hum teen log hain, which in English means "We are three." |
Let's break down these words and hear them one more time: |
(slow) hum teen log hain, hum teen log hain. |
Now we're going to review some numbers in Urdu in case your group happens to be bigger. The numbers one through five are ek, dou, teen, char, and panch. |
You could also say "We are four," which in Urdu is hum char log hain. |
Let's break it down by syllable: (slow) hum char log hain. Now let's hear it once again: hum char log hain. |
The first word, hum, means "we." We follow this with char, which in Urdu is "four", next is log which means “people” and lastly we have hain which means “are”: |
(slow) hum char log hain. |
If you are just one, the proper answer to the question is Main akela hun for a man and Main akeli hun for a woman. In English, they both mean "I am alone." |
Let's break down these words and hear them one more time: |
(slow) main ake-la hun |
(slow) Main ake-li hun. |
The first word, main, means "I." Let's hear it one more time: (slow) Main Main. The second word, akela/akeli, means "alone." Akela is the masculine form, and akeli is the feminine singular form. |
Let's break down these words and hear them one more time: (slow) ake-li akeli. (slow) ake-la akela. Finally, hun means "am." Let's hear it once again: hun. |
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